


Three Friends, Two Beers, and One Crappy Deck of Cards

by shittymuse



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Universe, Content Warning for Alcohol, Drabble, Gen, Modified Canon Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-14
Updated: 2014-10-14
Packaged: 2018-02-21 05:24:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2456399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shittymuse/pseuds/shittymuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poker night with the Vets ... because hold'em totally exists in the canon universe aha I don't know what you're talking about ...</p>
<p>Happy Birthday, Erwin Smith!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Friends, Two Beers, and One Crappy Deck of Cards

Erwin stepped into the first of his rooms and shrugged out his jacket, hanging it on the hook beside his cloak. He pulled the door shut behind him and walked over to settle down into his favorite armchair with a grateful sigh. It had been an absurdly long day, between morning drills and inventory meetings, afternoon conditioning and squad reviews, and of course, his endless evening paperwork. And on his birthday, no less. Not that it mattered -- good commanders did not take days off, especially not for something as trivial as a birthday.  _Still, it would have been nice to get a decent break or two_ , Erwin thought.

Erwin perked up when he heard the knob of his front door turn, his mouth twitching into an almost smile. There was only one person in the world who would come into his rooms without knocking. Erwin looked up to see, sure enough, Levi step through the door, with Hanji and Mike in tow. Mike winked, holding up a bottle of Erwin’s favorite whiskey in one hand and a case of beer in the other, and Hanji pulled a deck of cards from her jacket.

 “You didn't think we'd forgotten, did you?” she said.

 "Happy Birthday," Levi said.

.....................................

Erwin took a sip from his beer, and folded his cards. Nine four, off suit, not even worth a bluff at this point. He had the habit of playing conservatively, even with his current crowd of three, but there was a line between good poker and foolishness, and a nine four was just plain foolishness. Or, something like that. His head was fuzzy in a nice way, his shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and he felt relaxed for the first time in … too long.

“Again?” Hanji complained, pulling Erwin’s cards away and dealing the next three face up for the other two. The four of them sat around Erwin’s tiny dining table as they played cards. The table was something Erwin had bought to fill the space in his sitting room, as a companion to a small counter and single gas burner he only used to make tea every once and awhile. He had never actually eaten a meal at the table -- he prefered to walk down to mess, or take something hastily in his office -- and rarely sat at it, save for the rare impromptu poker night.

Erwin tipped his head back to finish the last of his beer before leaning to trade the empty bottle for the last one on the counter beside him. He popped the cap off and settled back in his chair, watching the others finish the hand. Erwin wasn’t much for celebrating birthdays, but this was nice.

Mike grumbled something under his breath at the cards, and bet Sunday morning guard duty. Levi raised him Friday night guard duty. Technically, they were playing a spare change game, but Mike had run out of change after ten hands and Levi was so tight-fisted with his money that he’d rather fold than play with it, so they tended to bet whatever else came to mind.

Mike raised Sunday morning guard duty for his entire squad, and Levi glared daggers at him before tossing his cards to Hanji.

“Asshole,” he muttered, nursing his own beer as Mike gathered the two meager coins that had been Hanji’s contribution to the hand with a smirk. Levi was not the best of poker players, though he tended to win when he played in bars. It was always amusing to watch him play a game at a public table, as he never lacked for opponents -- everyone wanted to see if they could beat Humanity’s Strongest, even if it was just a game of cards -- and Levi intimidated them all into folding whenever he wanted. No one ever bargained on just how  _scary_  he could be, staring them down across a table with hard eyes and a face like murder. The tactic failed miserably with the present company, however, and it was a rare evening he went home having won more than he lost.

Hanji shuffled the cards a few times and passed them to Levi to deal. Levi cut the deck and dealt quickly, flicking the cards easily to land in front of their respective owners. Erwin set his beer down and gathered his cards. Ten nine, off suit. Mike folded his hand, and Erwin placed two coins in the center, telling himself he wasn’t betting just because he was bored and wanted to play. Hanji bet two coins as well, and Levi reluctantly called. Levi discarded the first card on top of Mike’s hand, and dealt three more face up. A four of hearts, and a six and king of clubs, with only the four matching Erwin’s ten. Erwin folded his hand with a sigh, and Hanji bet Levi supervising the mess on Thursday morning.   

They played five more hands, with Erwin folding each time. Between hands, he chatted with Mike about how last years recruits were shaping up. During the next one, Levi informed him that something needed to be done about the Scout’s latrine, as it was starting to reek of shit.

“What did you expect it to smell like, roses?” Hanji said, ducking with a grin when Levi threw his cards at her.

Mike promised it wasn’t that bad yet, but Erwin told him to assign cleaning duties next time someone needed disciplining anyway, even though such incidents were rare in the Scouts. Hanji tried to bet the latrine duty the next hand, and the other three folded without even looking at their cards.

“Wimps,” she said, as Erwin passed her the deck of cards to deal the next hand.

Erwin shifted in his chair as Hanji shuffled the deck, stretching his legs out beneath the table. He reached for his bottle of beer, and raised it to drink only to find it was empty. He frowned, and set it aside, wishing it hadn't been the last one. His buzz was starting to fade, and he was not sure he was quite ready to see it go. Erwin tried not to look at the still full bottle of whiskey sitting on the counter. He had thanked Mike for his gift, but had declined to open it that night, as they all were on duty in the morning, but he almost wished he hadn’t.

Hanji passed him his cards, and Erwin lifted them up to see a suited king and queen of spades.  _Finally_ , he thought. Levi bet two coins, Mike called, and Erwin raised to four. Hanji whistled, folding her cards and gathering the deck in her hands to focus on dealing. Levi’s eyes narrowed, but he called, and Mike rubbed at the whiskers on his chin.

“You don’t have anything,” he said, watching Erwin as he called his raise. Hanji snorted, and dealt the next three cards.

“Of course he doesn’t,” Hanji said. Erwin didn’t respond, busy keeping his face still as Hanji flipped up three more spades -- an ace, a ten and a nine -- giving Erwin a nut flush, the best hand he’d seen any of them get yet that night. There were only five hands left that could still beat him, all of which were exponentially rare. It depended on the next two cards, but Erwin was confident he had already won the hand. All he had to do now was sweep the other two for everything they had.

Levi watched Erwin, and checked his hand. Mike grunted and bet three coins. Erwin met Levi’s gaze and gathered three coins in his hand.  _If I play just for money_ , Erwin thought,  _he’s going to fold_.

“I call three,” he said, before flicking his eyes to the bottle sitting on the counter. “And raise a shot of whiskey.”

Levi set down his cards and leaned back in his chair, studying Erwin and crossing his arms over his chest. “Fine,” he said, reaching to toss three coins into the center of the table.

“I’m in too,” Mike said. “I’ve been wanting to open that damn thing since I bought it.”

Hanji shrugged and dealt the next card, turning it over next to the others with a snap. It was a jack of diamonds. There were now only two hands that could beat Erwin, and about a dozen good ones that would lose to him. If he was lucky, and he had a feeling he was, Levi and Mike held two them.  _It’s a shame Hanji’s not still in_ , he thought.

“Two shots,” Levi bet, and Erwin blinked. Was he bluffing? No, he couldn’t be. Levi never bluffed. He had to have an inferior flush, or a straight. Mike whistled, but called. Erwin set his cards down, watching the little man across the table. He was not worried about Mike -- he was certain Mike had a straight, because Mike always chased straights -- but he wasn't so sure about Levi.

“Raise one shot,” Erwin said.

“Call,” Levi said, without hesitation.  _He must have a flush too_ , Erwin thought.

“Do these all need to be taken tonight?” Mike asked, drumming his cards on the table.

“Why not?” Erwin said. “You’re not scared, are you?”

“I’m not stupid,” Mike said, tossing his cards into the center of the table. “That’s four shots and you’ve got me running the 4:30 drills tomorrow morning. Fold.” Hanji gathered his cards into the discard pile, and pulled the next card from the top of the deck.

“Ready boys?” she asked, waving the final card in the air. Levi frowned at Hanji, and she slammed the last card down face up on the table with a flourish. It was a ten of clubs. Levi contemplated the card for a moment, before looking back up Erwin. His eyes were amused as he leaned forward and pushed the rest of his coins in the center of the table.

“Five coins, and one last shot,” he said.

“Raise three more shots,” Erwin said, tossing in five coins too, reveling in Levi’s surprised expression. The bet was excessive, but there was little else he liked better than the perfect gentleman that was drunk Levi.

“Are you trying to kill me?” Levi asked.

“Never,” Erwin replied. “I’m trying to win.”

Levi looked from Erwin to the cards, and back again, before sighing tiredly. “I’ll call,” he said.

With a deadpan expression, Levi reached forward and flipped over his cards. Hanji took one look at them and roared, slapping the table as she threw her head back and laughed. Mike leapt from the table, grabbing the bottle of whiskey and digging through the cupboard for a shot glass. Erwin blinked, dumbfounded, and stared at the cards.

It couldn’t be.

And yet, there they were.

Two aces, one of hearts, one of clubs, staring him in the face to make a full house -- the only hand left that could beat Erwin’s flush.

Mike slid back into his seat, tearing the seal off the top of the bottle, and Hanji tried to catch her breath. Erwin looked up and watched Levi’s lips twist into a tiny, wry smile. He had won the hand, and now it was Erwin’s turn to take  _eight shots_.

Mike poured the whiskey, and pushed the very full shot glass in front of Erwin. Erwin looked down at it with a sigh. He could be a gracious loser, and Levi had beat him fair and square. He wrapped his fingers around the glass as the other three watched expectantly.

“You’re all running extra laps tomorrow,” Erwin said dryly, throwing his head back and downing the first of his shots while the others cheered.   

**Author's Note:**

> Don't worry, Mike stopped him after three.


End file.
